Systems and methods for communicating among meeting attendees via wireless telephones

ABSTRACT

An organizer uses software to define a conference or meeting to take place at a physical meeting location, and to include a list of attendees. The attendees can receive the meeting information, including the location and attendee list, via client-side software on the wireless telephone. Also via their wireless telephones, the attendees can link to and display pages associated with other attendees, send and receive messages to and from one another, arrange further on-site or offsite meetings, and share various types of personal and business information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.13/694,279 entitled “Handheld Wireless Devices and Methods for SharingInformation Among and Between Individuals and Groups,” which was filedNov. 13, 2012, and is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.13/135,880 entitled “Methods and system for Organizing Meetings,” whichwas filed Jul. 15, 2011, and issued Nov. 13, 2012, as U.S. Pat. No.8,312,091. This application is related to U.S. application Ser. No.13/573,052 entitled “Systems and Methods for Controlling InformationSharing Among and Between Individuals and Groups of Individuals,” whichwas filed Aug. 15, 2012. Each of the foregoing applications is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/818,082, entitled“Interactive Wireless Device Communication System for Meetings andConferences,” which issued on Jul. 19, 2011, as U.S. Pat. No. 7,984,099.Application Ser. No. 11/818,082 is a continuation of U.S. Pat. No.7,231,423 B1, entitled “Interactive Wireless Device Communication Systemfor Meetings and Conferences,” which issued on Jun. 12, 2007. Theforegoing documents are incorporated herein by reference.

REFERENCE TO COMPACT DISC APPENDIX

The Compact Disc, which is a part of the present disclosure, includes arecordable Compact Disc (CD-R) containing files and information fromwhich a specific embodiment of an interactive wireless devicecommunication system for meetings and conferences can be built. Aportion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material thatis subject to copyright protection. All the material on the Compact Discis hereby expressly incorporated by reference into the presentapplication. The copyright owner of that material has no objection tothe facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or thepatent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Officepatent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights.The files on the Compact Disc, each created on 7 Mar. 2016 withoutadding subject matter to similar files in parent applications, arelisted with its creation date and size, in bytes, are: CalypsoAPI.txt(51,166); CalypsoClient.txt, (20,902); Palm.txt (258,887); Server.txt(2,230,474); and UI.txt (345,982).

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to wireless devices and methods therefor.

SUMMARY

A conference organizer uses conference software to define a conferenceand to store conference information on the organizer's computer system.The stored conference information, in one embodiment, includes theconference name, start date, end date, and the location where theconference will take place. The conference information additionallyincludes a list of conference attendees, and a personal proxy mailboxfor each conference attendee. Each conference attendee has a wirelessdevice, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA). The organizer'scomputer system includes a wireless communication station (for example,disposed at the location of the conference such as in the conferencehall) that can communicate in wireless fashion with the wireless devicesof the conference attendees at the conference. During the conference, anattendee can use his/her wireless device to access the conferenceinformation, select another conference attendee from the list ofattendees, and send the selected attendee a message such that themessage is stored in the personal proxy mailbox of the selectedattendee. The use of personal proxy mailboxes allows attendees to sendmessages to one another and to receive messages from one another withoutdivulging their primary email addresses. The primary email address of anattendee may, for example, be the primary business email address of theattendee. Examples of attendees include the conference organizer,exhibitors at the conference, sponsors, speakers at the conference, andother individuals attending the conference who are not exhibitors,sponsors, speakers or organizers.

After collecting messages and/or other information into his/her personalproxy at the conference, an attendee can use his/her wireless device andthe conference software to move selected parts of the collectedinformation from the attendee's personal proxy to another location (forexample, into the attendee's primary email inbox and/or onto theattendee's personal computer). Some period of time after conclusion ofthe conference, attendee access to their personal proxies on theorganizer's computer system is suspended and the storage space on theorganizer's computer system used to store the personal proxy informationis made available for other uses.

Other embodiments and novel aspects are set forth in the detaileddescription below. Accordingly, this summary does not purport to definethe invention. The invention is instead defined by the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an interactive wireless device communicationsystem for meetings and conferences in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method carried out by the system of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Example 1

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a first example of a conference system 100.Conference system 100 involves software executing on a computer systemof a conference organizer 101 as well as software executing on computersystems of attendees 102 and 103. The conference software executing onthe organizer's computer system in this embodiment is the very samesoftware as the software executing on the computer system of eachattendee. In each system, there is software (sometimes called “clientside” software) that executes on a wireless device and there is othersoftware (sometimes called “server side” software) that executes on acomputer such as a desktop computer or network of computers. In theillustrated example of FIG. 1, the organizer 101 has a wireless device104 and a desktop personal computer 105.

Client side conference software 106 executes on wireless device 104whereas server side software 107 executes on desktop personal computer105. Attendee #1 102 also has a wireless device 108 and a desktoppersonal computer 109. Wireless device 108 executes client sideconference software 110 whereas desktop personal computer 109 executesserver side software identical to the software executing on personalcomputer 105. Attendee #2 103 also has a wireless device 111 and adesktop personal computer 112. Wireless device 111 executes client sideconference software 113 whereas desktop personal computer 112 executesserver side software identical to the software executing on personalcomputer 105. All of computers 105, 109 and 112 are coupled to a network(most likely the Internet) such that they can send information to oneanother via the network if instructed to do so.

Wireless devices 104 and 108 are personal digital assistant (PDA)devices whereas wireless device 111 is a wireless-application-protocol(WAP) telephone. Client side software 106 and 110 may therefore bedifferent from client side software 113 in that it executes on adifferent hardware platform. It is substantially the same, however, inthe way that it communicates with the server side software.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart in accordance with the embodiment of FIG. 1.Organizer 101 uses an organizer user interface 114 of server sidesoftware 107 executing on the organizer's computer system to define aconference (step 200). This setting up of the conference may be doneeither via the wireless device 104 or the desktop computer 105. Arrow115 in FIG. 1 represents the organizer's defining the conference usingthe screen and keyboard of desktop computer 105.

In one embodiment, the organizer defines the conference by specifying alist of conference attendees 116, and the time, date, and location 117of the conference. Organizer 101 may also enter other conferenceinformation including a conference agenda 118.

In one embodiment, the organizer defines the conference by specifyingconference information 117, e.g. the conference name, start date, enddate, and the location where the conference will take place (e.g., city,state, country). The organizer also associates the conference with alist of conference attendees 116. Organizer 101 may also enter otherconference information, including lists of sessions and exhibits.Sessions are presentations to groups of conference attendees, andexhibits are company displays, such as a booth on the conference floor.The organizer specifies sessions and exhibits by name and location, andadditionally specifies sessions using an abstract of the sessioncontent, a start time, and an end time.

Organizer 101 may also specify personalized conference agendas 118 forindividual attendees. Attendees can set their agendas by e.g. signing upfor sessions or accepting invitations from other attendees. Apersonalized agenda 118 may include a list of meetings for the attendeescoped to only include those meetings that the attendee created, orthose that he/she did not create, all meetings, those remaining, orthose for a specific day. Meetings can occur between groups of peopleduring the conference, and may take place offsite.

An attendee may wish to share certain information with the others at theconference. This information may include background information on theattendee, a digital business card, a picture of the attendee,biographical information on the attendee, emails or othercommunications, information on products or services offered by theattendee, advertising material, technical specifications, and/or writtenwork product of the attendee. Information to be shared may includewritten textual information, video information, digital pictures, audioinformation or other types of information stored in digital form.

In the example of FIG. 1, organizer 101 uses user interface 114 tocompile such information from attendees #1 and #2 in such a manner thatthe agenda 118 includes, for each attendee, detailed information on eachattendee and a summary of what each attendee will contribute or share orpresent at the conference. The agenda 118 in one embodiment is aplurality of interlinked web pages. A top-level web page of the agendamay, for example, for each attendee include a link or links to theinformation that that attendee wishes to share. A viewer of theweb-based agenda 118 can access web-based agenda 118, select an attendeeof interest, and then click on a link to access additional web-pages forthat attendee, where the additional web pages include the more detailedinformation to be shared. The server side software 107 provides, throughuser interface 114, assistance in making such a web-based agenda thatincorporates information to be shared from the various attendees intothe web-based agenda.

The agenda may, for example, be a schedule or time table of aconference, where some of the attendees are speakers and where linksassociated with each speaker can be selected to find more detailedinformation on the topic to be presented by the speaker. In anotherexample, the conference may be a convention or trade show where some ofthe attendees are exhibitors and where links associated with eachexhibitor can be selected to find more detailed information on productsoffered by the exhibitor. For example, a user can see a bitmap of thefloor area with a selected company's location highlighted. In anotherexample, the conference may be a business meeting where some of theattendees are reporting their progress on certain action items and wherelinks associated with each reporting attendee can be selected to find adetailed report prepared by the attendee on the action item.

In the example of FIG. 1, each attendee has a “real identity” as well asa “personal proxy.” The personal proxy is maintained on the organizer'scomputer system. The personal proxy 119 for attendee #1 in the exampleof FIG. 1 is a mailbox and storage space identified as“JENS@COMDEX.COM”. This “JENS@COMDEX.COM” mailbox and storage area is a“proxy” in the sense that it, at least to some degree, allows attendee#1 to receive information and communicate with others at the conferencewithout divulging the real identity 120 of attendee #1(“JENS@OPENGRID.COM”) to others at the conference. In this example,JENS@OPENGRID.COM is the primary business email address of attendee #1.Attendee #1 does not want others at the conference to be able to sendattendee #1 unwanted advertisements and solicitations to the attendee'sprimary email address because such voluminous solicitations wouldobscure more important communications attendee #1 might receive viaJENS@OPENNGRID.COM. Attendee #2 also has a personal proxy 121 and a realidentity 122.

One or more wireless communication stations 123 and 124 are disposed atthe physical location of the conference. These wireless communicationstations 123 and 124 are coupled to the organizer's computer system. Thewireless communication stations are, in one embodiment, relatively lowpower RF transmitters/receivers that are adequately powerful to providecommunication with the wireless devices within the conference location,but are not so powerful that they transmit much beyond the conferencelocation. In some embodiments, the wireless communication stations areinfrared beaming stations (for example, Clarinet EtherIR Star 1000devices that have wired Ethernet connections to the organizer's computersystem).

An attendee on the list of attendees 116 travels to the conference placewith his/her wireless device. Alternatively, attendees can rent,purchase, or borrow a suitable wireless device at the conference place.In any case, when the wireless device of the attendee comes within acommunication range of a wireless communication station at theconference place, wireless communication is established (step 201) withserver side software 107 of the organizer's computer system. If anattendee #1 is on the list of attendees 116, then attendee #1 isregistered (step 202) with the conference software executing on theorganizer's computer system. In some embodiments, attendee #1 must bemanually registered by personnel at a greeting desk at the conferencesuch that the personnel registers the attendee via desktop computer 105.In other embodiments, the organizer computer system sends the wirelessdevice of the attendee a request to register. The attendee so alertedmay then use his/her wireless device to send a communication back to theorganizer's computer system that causes the attendee to be registered.In other embodiments, the attendee is automatically registered by theorganizer's computer system when communication is established with theattendee's wireless device.

Upon registration, the organizer computer system sends updatedconference information (step 203) to the attendee's wireless device. Theupdated conference information may, for example, include an up-to-dateversion of agenda 118 and an up-to-date version of the list of attendees116. A copy of this updated conference information may be moved into thepersonal proxy of the attendee.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 1, attendee #2 103 is also presentand registered at the conference, the wireless device 111 of theattendee #2 being in wireless communication with wireless communicationstation 124. Attendee #1 102 has provided information to be shared 125.Attendee #2 103 has provided information to be shared 126.

In the method of FIG. 2, attendee #1 during the conference updates (step204) his/her information to be shared 125. Attendee #1 may do this atthe conference using wireless device 108. In the case where attendee #1is a participant in a business meeting, attendee #1 may learn thatanother participant would like access to certain information thatresides on the computer system 109 of the first attendee. First attendee#1 may therefore use wireless device 108 at the business meeting toprovide a link (the link is present in the information to be shared 125)to that information such that another participant at the businessmeeting can use the link to access the information. Alternatively,attendee #1 may use wireless device 108 to instruct software executingon desktop computer 109 to move selected information from desktopcomputer 109 to the organizer's computer system so that the otherparticipant can access it there.

In the case where attendee #1 is an exhibitor at a trade showconvention, attendee #1 may use desktop computer 109 to change his/herdigital exhibit information for certain products or services. Theexhibitor (attendee #1) may use the web-based interface of the softwareexecuting on the organizer's computer system to change this exhibitinformation. In the situation where the information to be shared byattendee #1 is incorporated into the part of the agenda reserved forattendee #1, the ability to change the information to be shared once theconference is in progress allows attendee #1 (in this case attendee #1is an exhibitor) to update his/her portion of the agenda rapidly withoutrequiring intervention of the conference organizer.

In the example of FIG. 2, attendee #2 accesses the updated conferenceinformation (step 205) as updated by attendee #1. Where attendee #1 is aparticipant in a business meeting and provides a link to information oncomputer 109, attendee #2 can use the link to access the information oncomputer 109. Alternatively, attendee #1 may have moved information fromcomputer 109 to be part of “attendee #1 information to be shared” 125.Attendee #2 then accesses the information in “attendee #1 information tobe shared” 125. Alternatively, attendee #1 may have moved informationfrom computer 109 directly into the personal proxy 121 of attendee #2.This may be accomplished, for example, by sending an email-like messagecontaining the information from computer 109 to ART@COMDEX.COM, whereattendee #1 causes this email-like message to be sent using wirelessdevice 108.

In this way, the conference software and the wireless devices provide amechanism for attendees at the conference to exchange information. Anattendee carrying only a wireless device can walk around a conventionand exchange information with another attendee carrying only a wirelessdevice. Similarly, two attendees at a business meeting can exchangeinformation using only wireless devices. The entry for an attendee inthe list of attendees may include the personal proxy name(JENS@COMDEX.COM is a personal proxy name in this example) of theattendee such that other attendees can select that personal proxy nameas a destination address for a message.

In the example of FIG. 2, once the information from attendee #1 ispresent in personal proxy 121 of attendee #2, attendee #2 moves at leastsome of that information from personal proxy 121 to the real identity122 (step 206) of attendee #2. Attendee #2 can use wireless device 111or desktop computer 112 to initiate this move of information.

In one example, attendee #2 collects a great deal of information at atrade show conference. The information is collected into personal proxy121 in the form of stored files. Attendee #2 leaves the conference andreturns to his/her office. Desktop computer 112 is located at theoffice. Attendee #2 uses desktop computer 112 to review the informationin personal proxy 121. Attendee #2 uses the conference softwareexecuting on desktop computer 112 to move selected parts of thatinformation from personal proxy 121 on the organizer's computer systemto a storage location of computer 112. Attendee #1 does the same.Attendee #1 looks through information stored in the personal proxy 119of attendee #1 and moves (step 207) selected parts of that informationfrom personal proxy 119 on the organizer's computer system to a suitablestorage location on computer 109.

After a certain amount of time, the server side conference software 107executing on the organizer's computer system deletes all personalproxies including personal proxies 119 and 121. Attendees that wish toretain information in their personal proxies therefore must move thatinformation to another suitable storage location before the organizercomputer system deletes the information in the personal proxies. Inother embodiments, the organizer computer system sends attendeespotentially interesting information prior to deletion, or sendsattendees an alert prior to deletion.

In some embodiments, the organizer 101 is one of the attendees andwireless communication station 123 is disposed in a conference roomwithin the organizer's office. Each business meeting taking place in theconference room is defined in the conference software by a conferencedate and time and a list of attendees. In one embodiment, the conferencesoftware is part of an office software suite. The conference softwaremay, for example, work in conjunction with or be incorporated into aprogram such as Microsoft's Outlook program. Rather than just syncingconference information into a regular folder in Outlook, the conferencesoftware provides a virtual folder accessible through Outlook thatcontains, on a per-conference basis, conference information (conferenceinformation includes, among other things, contacts, a calendar, notes,and messages). Such integration with Outlook allows the attendee tocreate an overlay with another regular Outlook folder such that theattendee can move (e.g., drag and drop) selected items from the virtualfolder to the other regular folder, where both the virtual folder andthe regular folder are accessible from Outlook.

Although the collection of information using personal proxies isexplained here as being collected on the organizer's computer system,the information may also be collected elsewhere. For example, theconference software provides an option to each attendee to haveinformation flowing into the attendee's personal proxy forwardedstraight through the personal proxy and directly to another destination.The attendee, for example, enters the real identity (for example,another email address) into the conference software such thatinformation flowing into the personal proxy is automatically forwardedto the real identity. When this forwarding option is selected, theconference software still serves to allow others at the conference tosend information to the attendee without the others ever knowing theultimate destination for the information. The information, however,rather than being stored on the organizer's computer system, is storedelsewhere (for example, on the computer system of the attendee).

Client side conference software 106 synchronizes with server sidesoftware 107 in three modes, First deployment, Sign Up/FirstAuthentication, and Profile Synching. First deployment encapsulates theprocess of first getting the client onto the wireless device. This canbe done in two ways: via cradle installation/update; infrared beaming.The users will be given a chance to download the client onto theirdesktop and upload client onto PDA via cradle. Alternatively the usercan get beamed the application on the conference floor via an IR Star1000 for example. Sign-Up/First Authentication mode allows the user touse the application. This can be done via IR to send user preferredusername-password pair to server and server acceptance later received bythe PDA. This username and password can be stored internally withoutlogin by the user every time a profile synching (see below) is requiredlike a cookie. The Profile Synching mode is when the user wants toupdate static data (static data concerning the exhibitors, categories,floor plans/maps, sessions, etc.) and sending personalized data (likesending new messages) and downloading new personalized data (likereceiving messages for a specific user).

Example 2

A second example of a conference system is now described. Theserver-side conference software is different from the client-sideconference software. In one specific embodiment, the computer systemupon which the server-side software executes includes a DELL servercoupled to the internet, a Sun Solaris database server, a local computersystem at the conference location that is coupled to the internet, a802.11 wireless access point device, and an IR beaming station. Theserver-side conference software executes on top of Weblogic applicationserver software that in turn runs on a Windows 2000 operating systemthat in turn runs on the DELL server. This server-side conferencesoftware provides a web-based interface. The conference organizer usesthe local computer at the conference location to access the DELL servervia the Internet and the web-based interface. The server-side softwarerunning on the DELL server communicates with an Oracle database (anotherpart of the server-side software) running on the Sun Solaris databaseserver. The conference information (for example, the list of attendees,the list of exhibitors, product information, the conference agenda,agendas personalized by attendees, attendee buddy lists, session data,attendee message inboxes and message outboxes) is stored on the SunSolaris database server. Both the 802.11 wireless access point and theIR beaming station are located at the conference location and arecoupled via Ethernet connections to the local computer.

The attendee wireless devices in one specific system of Example 2include: 1) laptop computers, 2) Compaq iPaq pocket PCs, and 3) Palm OSbased PDA devices. The laptop computers and iPaq pocket PCs communicatein wireless fashion with the 802.11 wireless access point. The wirelessaccess point may, for example, be a wireless access point available fromIBM, CISCO or Linksys. The Palm OS based PDA devices communicate withthe IR beaming station using the IrOBEX infrared communication protocol.The IR beaming station may, for example, be an IR beaming stationavailable from Clarinet Systems. The conference system of Example 2 mayinclude multiple such IR beaming stations and multiple such 802.11wireless access points.

Using a wireless device at the conference, a first attendee can select asecond attendee's name from a list of attendees, compose a message tothe second attendee, and send the message to a personal proxy mailbox ofthe second attendee without knowing the primary email address of thesecond attendee. The second attendee can then respond to the firstattendee using the second attendee's personal proxy mailbox name as thesource of the message such that the first attendee does not learn theprimary email address of the second attendee. Accordingly, a conferenceattendee can communicate by sending and receiving messages withoutdivulging the attendee's real identity (for example, without divulgingthe attendee's primary email address). Although the personal proxymailboxes may be usable by attendees for some period of time before andafter the conference, the personal proxy mailboxes are only accessiblefor a time period that is roughly coextensive with the duration of theconference.

Conference software 107 can group collections of attendees togetherbased upon e.g. a common interest and facilitate inter-group sharing ofinformation. For example, attendees associated with a giveninterest-based group can send messages to other group members to set upmeetings. Group membership may be derived from attendee sign-upinformation or can be based upon enrollment. In one embodimentconference software 107 supports the following types of attendeegroupings: conference, session (a presentation to a group of attendees),exhibit (e.g., a booth on the conference floor), company, buddies, and“birds of a feather” (like buddies, but sponsored by a company). Groupmembers can then communicate with one another using various forms ofmessages. For example, notifications, invitations, or announcements canbe directed to individuals or groups for immediate delivery or selectiveretrieval. The use of proxies allows attendees to participate in groupswithout divulging their primary email address.

Buddy groups are attendee groupings that are setup and maintained byattendees themselves. An individual may have several buddy groupings fordifferent interests. Each attendee may setup multiple buddy groups, andmay belong to other attendee's groups. Conference software 107 allowseach attendee to request and receive a list of buddy lists that are notowned by the attendee, but where the attendee is a member. Conferencesoftware 107 also allows each attendee to get a list of attendees in aspecified buddy list. If the specified buddy list is not owned by theattendee, then conference software 107 includes the owner of the buddylist.

The Compact Disc Appendix (the entire contents of the Compact DiscAppendix is part of this patent document and is hereby expresslyincorporated by reference into this patent document) includesclient-side conference software in accordance with Example 2 (executeson the attendee wireless devices) as well as server-side conferencesoftware in accordance with Example 2 (executes on the organizer'scomputer system). The following listing of files describes briefly thecontents of a CD appendix that includes the source code for a specificworking embodiment of the invention. The source code is annotated withfurther descriptive language, and is fully enabling.

The “palm.txt” document contains client software that resides on aportable digital assistant that runs the Palm Operating System, or PalmOS®.

Descriptions with the term “common” are common in the sense that theyare shared among the various software components running on the clientPalm-enabled device. Shared, or “common,” resources include globalvariables and global properties. Shared resources also include commonfunctionalities, such as sending messages from one layer to another.

Descriptions with the term “messaging” facilitate messaging. Forexample, this software forwards messaging requests to an infraredcommunication engine for forwarding to a server.

Profile software allows client-side users to log into the system.

A session is a presentation to a group of people at a conference.“Session” software includes a session engine that orders and retrievesspecific sessions defined by a conference organizer.

The term “util” identifies a utility that decomposes strings.

The Palm.txt file describes a communication (or “comm”) layer. Ingeneral, the comm layer returns the appropriate classes to handlenetworking or data-layer operations.

The Palm.txt file describes communication software that returns theappropriate classes to handle profiles, preferences, session data,messages, and user data.

The Palm.txt file contains communication software that returns theappropriate classes to handle lower-level IR functionality (infra-redcommunication between client and server).

The Palm.txt file contains data structures that define the physicallayouts for related collections of data.

The Palm.txt file contains “ui” software, which in turn contains objectsdefining the client-side user interface.

The Palm.txt file includes components that allow the client user tocustomize the palm user interface.

The Server.txt file contains server software that resides on a serverthat runs Win2000 Server (also Solaris). The application servers areclustered to handle server fail over.

The Server.txt file includes a cache manager, designated cachemgr, thatspeeds requests for frequently accessed information, such as lists ofconference attendees.

The Server.txt file contains software that refers to “clarinet.”Clarinet Systems, Inc.® is a company that provides IR connectivity toenable users of handheld appliances, such as those using the Palm OS® tocommunicate over a network. The various “clarinet” files include IRconnectivity software from or adapted from Clarinet Systems, Inc.®

The Server.txt file contains software that refers to “Enterprise JavaBeans (ejb).” Enterprise JavaBeans (ejb) is a specification for creatingserver-side scalable, transactional, multi-user secure enterprise-levelapplications. The ejb objects encapsulate the data models and thebusiness logic of this software.

The Server.txt file contains an internationalization object thatsimplifies adapting this software to communicate with users in differentlanguages (e.g., Spanish and English).

The Server.txt file contains software that facilitates access to objectsthat define a data model layer, a business logic layer, and an interfacelayer

The Server.txt file contains software that refers to“clarinet.”./server/internal: This directory includes software thatchanges string format.

The Server.txt file contains software that refers to “jsp.” JSP standsfor JAVA SERVER PAGES. This file includes JSP administration interfacepages and forms that allow users or marketing people to add users orcomponents.

The Server.txt file contains software that refers to “locale.” This fileincludes software related to internationalization, including a uniqueset of properties for each supported language.

The Server.txt file contains software that refers to “mailsetup,” whichcontains an object that provides communication with a mail server. Theobject manages the mail server, e.g. facilitating the creation,maintenance, and deletion of mail accounts.

The Server.txt file contains software that refers to “messaging,” whichincludes an object that allows users to send, receive, reply, or deletemessages.

The Server.txt file contains software that refers to “objects,” whichincludes data structures used by the entire server system.

The Server.txt file contains software that refers to “ogirproxy,” whichincludes a software proxy that facilitates communication between theapplication server and the IR connectivity software.

The Server.txt file contains software that refers to “palmutils,” whichincludes a number of utilities that convert data and information intothe Palm database (pdb) format.

The Server.txt file contains software that refers to “request,” whichincludes software that parses types of user requests and calls functionsto prepare responses to the requests.

The Server.txt file contains software that refers to “servlets,” whichincludes objects that handle client requests by communicating with EJBsthrough the interfaces and composing reply messages in a formatunderstood by clients.

The Server.txt file contains software that refers to “systmgr,” whichenables Enterprise JavaBeans and application server processes running ondifferent hardware to share information in a clustering setup.

The Server.txt file contains software that refers to “util,” whichincludes objects used by the application server.

The UI.txt file contains software that defines the server userinterfaces. There are several types to facilitate use with differenttypes of devices.

The organizer's computer system in this case includes the DELL server,the Sun Solaris server, the local computer, the 802.11 wireless accesspoint coupled to the local computer, and the IR beaming station coupledto the local computer despite the fact that part of the system may beoperated by an entity other than the conference organizer. Additionaldetails on the conference system of Example 2 are found on the CompactDisc Appendix in the documents entitled: 1) “API Document ForInteractive Wireless Device Communication System for Meetings andConferences.”, and 2) “Calypso Client-Side Design (Palm)”. Paper copiesof these documents are also submitted herewith, and are alsoincorporated herein by reference. The API Document contains comments,definitions, and a pseudocode computer program listing.

Although the invention is described above in connection with specificexemplary embodiments, the present invention is not limited thereto. Anysuitable type of wireless communication station can be employed. Theparticular wireless communication stations in the examples above are butexamples. Similarly, any suitable type of wireless device can beemployed. The particular wireless devices in the examples above are butexamples. The conference organizer's computer system may involve asingle hardware server platform and associated wireless communicationdevice, or may involve multiple computer systems that are coupledtogether via a network or networks. Accordingly, various modifications,adaptations, and combinations of various features of the describedembodiments can be practiced without departing from the scope of theinvention as set forth in the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for attending a meeting defined astaking place at a physical location and using client-side softwareexecuting on a wireless telephone having a user interface, the methodcomprising: automatically synchronizing the client-side software with aremote server to update first attendee information that a user of thewireless telephone wishes to share; receiving meeting information at thewireless telephone from the remote server, the meeting informationincluding the physical location of the meeting and a list of meetingattendees; displaying on the wireless telephone the list of meetingattendees via the user interface, the list of meeting attendeesincluding, for each displayed meeting attendee, a first link to a firstpage of the displayed meeting attendee; receiving, via the userinterface of the wireless telephone, input selecting the first link foran attendee of interest among the list of meeting attendees; andresponsive to the input, displaying the first page of the attendee ofinterest on the user interface, the first page including a second linkto a second page of the attendee of interest, the second page includingsecond attendee information to be shared by the attendee of interest. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless telephone, responsive to theinput, transmits the first link for the attendee of interest to requestthe first page of the attendee of interest.
 3. The method of claim 1,the synchronizing updating on at least one of the wireless telephone andthe remote server a list of additional meetings to take place offsite ofthe physical location.
 4. The method of claim 1, the synchronizingupdating on at least one of the wireless telephone and the remote servera list of additional meetings to take place at the physical locationduring the meeting.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprisingreceiving from the remote server and displaying, on the user interfaceof the wireless telephone, a map of the physical location.
 6. The methodof claim 5, wherein the map of the physical location depicts a secondlocation of a company on the map.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein thesecond location is within the physical location of the meeting.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising displaying an exhibitor list viathe user interface, the exhibitor list including at least one exhibitorattending the meeting and an exhibitor link to information descriptiveof products offered by the exhibitor.
 9. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising authenticating a user of the wireless telephone andautomatically synchronizing the client-side software with the remoteserver to update a profile of the user, the profile of the userincluding a third link to a picture of the user.
 10. The method of claim9, further comprising receiving, via the user interface, a downloadrequest and, responsive to the download request, saving the picture tothe wireless telephone.
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprisingtransmitting meeting updates to update the meeting information toinclude video information.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein thewireless telephone supports a wireless network connection of adequatepower to provide communication within the physical location of themeeting but not much beyond the physical location of the meeting, andwherein the meeting information is received via the wireless networkconnection, the method further comprising establishing the wirelessnetwork connection with a wireless communication station at the physicallocation.
 13. A non-transitory computer readable medium containingclient-side software for attending a meeting defined as occurring at aphysical meeting location and having a meeting agenda, via a userinterface of a wireless telephone, wherein executing the client-sidesoftware on the wireless telephone causes the wireless telephone to:automatically synchronize the client-side software with a remote serverto store, at the remote server, first attendee information that a userof the wireless telephone wishes to share; receive meeting informationfrom the remote server, the meeting information including a physicallocation of the meeting and a list of meeting attendees; display thelist of meeting attendees via the user interface, the list of meetingattendees including, for each displayed meeting attendee, a first linkto a page of the meeting attendee; receive, via the user interface,input selecting the first link for an attendee of interest among thelist of meeting attendees; and responsive to the input, display the pageof the attendee of interest, the page including a second link to anadditional page of the attendee of interest, the additional pageincluding first information to be shared by the attendee of interest.14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13, thesynchronizing further updating a list of additional meetings.
 15. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13, whereinsynchronizing the client-side software with the remote server includesreceiving, on the wireless telephone, a message from the attendee ofinterest.
 16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13,wherein executing the client-side software on the wireless telephonefurther causes the wireless telephone to receive and display, on theuser interface, a map of the physical location.
 17. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the map of the physicallocation depicts a second location of a company on the map.
 18. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein executingthe client-side software on the wireless telephone displays an exhibitorlist via the user interface, the exhibitor list identifying at least oneexhibitor attending the meeting and including an exhibitor link toinformation descriptive of products offered by the exhibitor.
 19. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 13, wherein executingthe client-side software on the wireless telephone updates a profile ofa user, the profile of the user including a third link to information tobe shared by the user, and sends a message to the remote serverinstructing the remote server to share the third link with the attendeeof interest.